acidburn-10 "Scream for Help" is yet another fun 80's slasher movie, where a young girl believes that her stepfather is trying to kill her mother, and so in usual fashion the girl becomes all Nancy Drew and sets out to prove her theory right, which then unravels when him and his gang come after her and her mother and terrorizes them.Yes this movie is very cheesy which I love and very 80's which again I love, the central character of Christine who along with her friends start sleuthing was fun, and plus when she falls for the boy next door that was also hilarious in true 80's fashion. The mix of teenage antics and slasher movie terrority both really work well together and even gels at an even pace and does create a decent amount of suspense especially during the final showdown.All in all "Scream for Help" is just a fun time waster.

Coventry Admittedly Michael Winner will probably never win a lifetime-achievement honorary award for his career as a director, but damned did that man ever knew how to make entertaining & hugely exciting movies! Apart from some of the films he shot with the legendary Charles Bronson (the "Death Wish"-series, "The Mechanic"), most of his work sadly ended up in oblivion rather quick, and this "Scream for Help" might even be the absolute most obscure and painfully forgotten movie Winner ever made. Contrarily, however, this one of the trashiest, most uncompromising & outrageously amusing movies of the 80's and it's guaranteed to make your cheer & chuckle from start to finish, unless of course you just finished drinking an entire bottle of the sourest vinegar there is. The plot is pure standard and derivative guff, but Tom Holland's script is unimaginably fast-paced and Winner's tight direction doesn't leave you any time to nag about the multiple shortcomings. Christie Cromwell is a hyperactive & stubborn teenager who's convinced that her handsome but vicious stepfather Paul Fox intends to kill her mother and run off with the family fortune. Christie uncovers his affair with the sluttish Brenda and tries to warn her friends as well as the police about a variety of failed murder attempts, but no one believes her. Even when she can finally prove the murder conspiracy with photographic evidence, the nightmare isn't over yet, as Paul and his psychopathic accomplices return to kill both the mother and Christie! The main storyline of "Scream for Help" is pure gold already (at least, to exploitation/trash fanatics it is) but particularly the sub plots are almost too demented for words. The triangular relationship between the criminals adds up to the suspense and - most of all – the entire film seems to be a very unsubtle campaign to promote premarital sex! Christie's friends Janey and Josh do nothing else than sleeping with each other and, after an unfortunate accident, Josh makes his life's mission to snatch Christie's virginity. "Scream for Help" is stuffed with socially incorrect elements like this (there's also rape, misogynistic violence and the pushing of people in a wheelchair down the stairs), making it easily one of the most genuine cinematic trash-highlights I've ever beheld. The teenage girl is more skilled in preparing booby traps than the entire A-Team all together, Lolita Lorre (as Brenda) is undoubtedly the hottest chick to have appeared in ONE film only and there's a terrifically absurd and implausible "he's-not-dead-yet" climax! Several of the reviews and user-comments I encountered on "Scream for Help" complain that the music misfits the nature of the film and that the camera placements were horrible more than just occasionally. Yeah, so? According to yours truly, this 'ineptitude' only contributes to increase the fun, trash and sleaze factors of the movie. This is awesome, unhinged and derailed 80's entertainment and if I could rate it 11 out of 10, I'd do it.

The_Void What a pleasant surprise this film was! All the warning signs pointed to Scream for Help being a bad film; it's practically unknown, directed by Michael Winner (who. let's face it, doesn't have a track record for making the best films), it has a low IMDb rating and the plot is generic and largely unoriginal; but despite all of this, Scream for Help triumphs over adversity and can stand tall as one of the most fun trash flicks ever made! The film certainly has its problems; Winner appears to have no clue when it comes to style, and the film is often very choppy both in terms of plotting and dialogue, but it doesn't take itself seriously and the plot has enough about it to ensure that the film is always entertaining. The plot focuses on Christie Cromwell; a teenage girl with a problem. She believes that her stepfather Paul Fox is trying to murder her and her mother so he can inherit a fortune; but no one will believe her! Luckily for her, however, Paul is a bumbling buffoon when it comes to murder, and you can only fail to kill someone so many times before you get caught out...The way that Winner handles the film is terrible, but somehow great at the same time. There's some horrendous use of music in this film, and the tone of the movie often changes in a heartbeat; but all this works well as Winner keeps the audience on their toes, and the film never tries to be anything other than a trash flick. The plot used in this film was changed slightly and reused for the 1987 hit 'The Stepfather', and while very good; that film mostly kept itself 'clean', but that's not the case here. Winner inserts sex, nudity, blood and nasty death scenes into this film; and while it's extremely over the top and not really in-fitting with the plot, that's Winner's style and he certainly knows how to deliver an entertaining trashy movie. The lead role is taken by unknown actress Rachael Kelly, and she's really rather good. The film plays out from her perspective, and her voice-overs again offset the rest of the film as its sort of like a little girl's diary, with sex, blood and a murder plot. Overall, Scream for Help might not do much for a lot of people - but I had a great time with it, and therefore the film comes highly recommended!

mamamiasweetpeaches Almost so bad its good............ALMOST. A goofy 80s My-Diary-type of horror flick,told with a young girl narrating. Sort of comes off as an AfterSchool Special. Rachel Kelly stars as an Ami Dolenz look-alike who dresses like a Valley Girl who REALLY needs style counseling. Her rich rich rich mother marries a no good scheamer who is plotting to kill them to get thier wealth to split with his mistress. Only the young girl knows this and no one wants to believe it. Despite thefact the girl can drive she decides to do alot of her investigating on a bicycle,which leads to some of the more outlandishly funny scenes of the movie,with hysterical music pounding away as she bicycles around with fear in heart. This movie has some real groaner moments. for example,there is a blackout in the house,and all the clocks still very obviously are working! and stuff like that. theres also a totally unbelievable love interest, but I wont waste time talkin about that. Just when you think this might be a safe one to watch with the kids,they throw sex into the mix....about 3 times...no wait: its 4!!!! so its not even the goofy kinda Mother daughter fun like,say "Deadly Friend". if you do wanna see a cheesy minor-cult-status movie,by all means rent SCREAM FOR HELP. just make sure you have plenty of beer on hand when you do!